Nelson Jardim is excited to be back on home soil and will welcome the expected extra edge to proceedings when they face Swindon Town at Rodney Parade on Friday night.
The Exiles and the Robins lock horns as the home side look to return to winning ways in League Two, following four consecutive defeats.
And Jardim is expecting Ian Holloway’s visitors to provide a tough test in NP19 and hopes his players and the Amber Army feed off the occasion.
“I look forward to every game, but for the fans, these fixtures are always special. So yes, we’re definitely looking forward to it," he said.
“Every game is massive, but home games are especially important for us.
“In this second half of the season, we have 13 home fixtures and only nine away, so we need to capitalise on that. Swindon is a big match, but we take each game as it comes.
“It was a tough game back then [the opening fixture against Swindon], with a lot of issues – injuries, suspensions – and we were very short on options.
“Things are different now. We have more depth and solutions. It’ll still be a challenging game, especially with Ian Holloway doing a good job there, but we’re better prepared this time.
“Tomorrow is another chance to show our strength at Rodney Parade.”
Ahead of the match, the Exiles have bolstered their attacking options with the signing of Josh Martin, and Jardim is pleased with the club’s business in the January transfer window so far.
“The January transfer window is always challenging, but I’m happy with what we’ve achieved so far,” he added.
“Josh is someone we’ve been following for a while. He’ll bring additional quality to the squad, which is exactly what we aim for in every signing. Josh is a technical player, and we hope he can make a real difference in the final third.
“Before signing, I spoke with him about the expectations. He’s only 23 years old but already has a significant amount of experience, including at League One level, where he impressed during his time at Doncaster. Our job now is to help him rediscover that form and, ideally, surpass it.
“We’ve signed Tom, a local Welsh lad who fits perfectly into the squad. He strengthens us at left-back, which was an area we needed to address. His signing isn’t just about now but also about planning for the next couple of years.
“We’ve also added David and now Josh. Each signing improves our squad, and that’s the key goal during any transfer window – to be stronger than before.”
